


Accidental Activation

by Nareliel



Category: Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: Canon Compliant Up Until the Final 42 Minutes of The Last Jedi, F/M, Random First Line Prompt
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-18
Updated: 2021-02-18
Packaged: 2021-03-13 14:01:26
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,504
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29527485
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Nareliel/pseuds/Nareliel
Summary: “Move away from the door and let me at him,” the words slipped from Kylo Ren as smooth as silk, but Rey was not deceived.“No,” she refused, her back to the panel that would allow him entry.
Relationships: Rey/Ben Solo | Kylo Ren
Comments: 4
Kudos: 28





	Accidental Activation

**Author's Note:**

> This came from a random first-line prompt, "Move away from the door and let me at him." I'm not even sure why this setting was the first to come to mind because, at the time, my best friend and I had just been to a production of _Phantom of the Opera_ and were totally immersed in everything Andrew Lloyd Webber. However, I read this writing prompt and Reylo sprung to the forefront.
> 
> The setting of this is AU. As I tagged it, everything that happened in the movies has occurred up to the point in _The Last Jedi_ when Kylo Ren asked Rey to join him. I'm not sure why in this setting Rey decided to stay with him. She's not going to the dark side. Perhaps she thinks she can save him. Maybe in this version, Kylo _did_ stop the attack on the fleeing Resistance ships. I don't know. I just know the setting is on the _Supremacy_ , Snoke is dead, and Kylo is the Supreme Leader.

“Move away from the door and let me at him,” the words slipped from Kylo Ren as smooth as silk, but Rey was not deceived.

“No,” she refused, her back to the panel that would allow him entry. There was no reason she should protect the man in the holding cell behind her, but Rey knew moving from her position would mean his death. Across the room, a few Stormtroopers stood ready to act should their leader decide she should be returned to her quarters. 

He apparently sensed their eagerness for, without a glance over his shoulder, Kylo addressed all others in the room with a commanding, “Leave us.” Without hesitation, the chamber emptied of everyone, including the few droids that monitored the computer screen diagnostics of the prisoner’s condition. The door to the hallway slid shut, leaving them in a silence punctuated only by the hums and beeps of the ship’s mechanical components. A moment no longer than a few heartbeats hung between them as he studied her.

“Rey,” Kylo finally spoke, his tone almost soothing, as though he could persuade her to bend to his will.

“Ben,” she replied just as calmly. He expelled a deep breath at the use of a name he wished to forget. None other than Rey dared speak it in his presence, and he had yet to decipher why he allowed her to continue to do so. She arched one delicate brow at him in silent defiance and he suppressed the look of admiration that threatened to overtake him. He knew exactly why he allowed her the indulgence. To demand she stop would do nothing but weaken his authority; for she would defy him at every turn and not only continue to call him by a forbidden name but dare to do so publicly in retaliation. At least, as things stood, she refrained from using the hated moniker when others were close enough to hear it. 

A muffled yell from the other side of the door drew his gaze to the monitor that showed an angry, battered Hux cursing at the camera he knew watched him. The volume on the display was silenced, but Kylo didn’t need to hear what the man said to know the former general deserved death. His anger rolled off him in waves that he could not suppress, and he saw Rey shift so that she stood firmly in his way. Anger and aggression would not serve him here; for she could sense them and would retaliate, using what she had learned of the Force to counter him. No, he would need to take a different approach. Kylo swallowed back his hatred for the man on the screen and turned to face Rey as he removed the glove from his right hand. He placed it on the nearest surface as he advanced toward her.

“How can you defend him?” he asked gently, as he came to a stop a mere foot away. She had to adjust her stance to look up into his penetrating gaze. Kylo lifted his ungloved hand – knowing she would resist had he kept his fingers clad in the black leather – and lightly trailed his fingertips along the bruise at her temple. “He hurt you.” 

Rey stared up into his gaze, the eyes staring down at her so reminiscent of the look he had given her in the lift when taking her to Snoke, and she found she needed to remind herself to breathe. Exhaling slowly, she murmured, “He did not leave the confrontation unscathed.” She watched a caustic grin turn the corners of his mouth up ever so slightly as he lowered his palm to rest against the exposed skin of her arm.

“Few who face you do,” he replied softly. Unbidden, her hand moved of its own accord, and Rey found her fingers tracing the scar she had placed along his cheek. Kylo’s body went still at the contact. He felt a burning sensation where she touched him, almost as though the Force sparked between them. Given the stillness that had come over Rey, she must feel it too. They stared into one another’s eyes, the push and pull of his darkness and her light mingling between them unseen by the naked eye. What felt like both a lifetime and only a heartbeat passed before they were interrupted by the entrance of an MSE droid. Kylo didn’t even have to order it back out of the room for, upon seeing them, it came to an abrupt stop, squealed out an apology, and hastily backed out of the room as swiftly as it had appeared. 

With the spell broken, Kylo’s attention returned to the scrapes and bruises Rey had sustained when Hux attacked. He knew this had been in retaliation for the general’s inability to strike at Kylo. The man had thought she would be an easy target, but he had been mistaken. Kylo Ren had just finished receiving reports from his knights when the Stormtrooper arrived to inform him General Hux was in custody after being bested by Rey in an unprovoked assault. He wished they had brought Hux to him first so that he could have killed him then. Instead, he had come to the detention block only to find Rey his one obstacle to retribution. Again, he felt the surge of anger rise.

“Hux must pay for what he has done.” The words came out cold and menacing, but Rey would not be moved. The hand that had rested on Kylo’s cheek came down to sit against his chest as though she prepared to deflect him should he attempt to move past her.

“And he will,” she assured him. “He is being punished even now,” she reasoned. “Not only is his pride bereft at being imprisoned, but he’s simmering in his own humiliation for being beaten by me.” Then, her voice dropping, she added, “A nobody.” Despite the palm pressed against his chest – or maybe because of it – Kylo moved in closer, invading her space as the hand at her arm circled around and spread against her back.

“Not to me,” he stated just as assuredly as he had once told her he was a monster. Again, they were caught in a trance of their own making, and Kylo Ren would have remained just as they were had Rey not figured out his bit of subterfuge. 

“Ben,” she murmured softly, the name a mere whisper on her lips, as she moved her free hand to slide down his left arm. Her fingers reached the gloved hand at his side and she added, “Stop choking the man.” She slipped her fingers between his own, effectively severing his connection to the Force and halting his attack on Hux in the next room. He gave her credit for discovering his stratagem. His former master had been blind to his abilities in the Force until it was too late. But then, Rey was more attune to him than Snoke could have ever hoped to be. She fixed him with a look that somehow managed to be both chastising and amused. In reflex to her natural spunk, he felt the corners of his mouth tug upward into a slightly apologetic grin.

“I had to try,” he responded, leaving Rey momentarily speechless at the repentant shrug of his shoulders. Supreme Leader Kylo Ren never apologized to anyone for anything. It was the smallest of cracks in that stalwart armor he so rarely let her glance behind. Instead of remarking upon it further, she squeezed his gloved hand a bit tighter while allowing the first real smile she had worn since he entered the room to spread across her lips.

“Why not try helping me tend these cuts and bruises instead?” she offered as she moved to pull him toward the door. Kylo paused, drawing her beside him to tuck her hand in his arm instead. Leaving the detention block hand-in-hand with a woman whom most still saw as the enemy would do little to solidify his image as their leader.

“I am no physician,” he replied before assuring her, “but I will do my best.” They had just stepped into the hallway when, recalling his glove, Kylo Ren paused to stretch out his right hand toward the discarded item. It lifted and  _ accidentally _ activated a switch on the control panel as it flew across the room into his outstretched palm. Kylo stifled his amusement as the door to the room slid shut behind them. Hux would survive the low voltage currents now pulsing through the chair, but he most definitely would not enjoy the experience. Perhaps Rey was right after all. Killing the former general would be too easy. He might allow Hux to live after all. Or, at least, as long as it amused him to do so. With the faintest of smiles, Kylo Ren turned his attentions to the woman on his arm as he led her down the hall and away from the man who had caused her injury.


End file.
